4 incumbents, 2 newcomers vying for 5 seats on Deer Lakes School Board

Four incumbents are facing off against two newcomers for five seats on the Deer Lakes School Board in Tuesday’s election.

The incumbents are Louis “Corky” Buck, III, 67, of East Deer; Larry Neidig, 41, of West Deer; Jodi Banyas-Galecki, 53, of Frazer; and William A. LuPone, Jr., 60, of West Deer.

The newcomers are Sam Smallwood, 21, and Cristy McCloskey, 46, both of West Deer.

Deer Lakes serves students from East Deer, Frazer and West Deer townships.

The school directors are elected at large. The terms are for four years.

There are nine seats in total.

The six candidates bring a mix of goals to the table.

Smallwood, a 2017 Deer Lakes graduate, wants to make mental health resources more accessible to students and teachers. He wants to make sure teachers and students have more of a say on what is happening in their classrooms.

“I think it’s their education and their workplace and they should have a greater say in changes that are made, but also what they’re learning, how they’re learning it, and what they feel would be better to get students more college ready and also just job ready,” he said.

This is Smallwood’s first run for political office. He’s a junior at the University of Pittsburgh.

LuPone, the board’s president, wants to keep taxes down and improve the district.

He’s been on the school board for eight years. He said that plus his 40 years as a certified public accountant make him a good choice for school director.

“I’ve owned numerous businesses over the years. I understand how it all works,” he said. “But more importantly, I understand what it means to have your community grow so that you can provide the upscale education that we need to provide to our children.”

Banyas-Galecki has been a board member for a total of 12 years. She’s the owner of Just Your Type, a typesetting and design firm.

She would like the district cut back on spending. She’d also like to find a way for people 65 and older to not have to pay school taxes.

“I work with many people outside of my business that are in their 70s, 80s and even 90s, and have to have a job after retirement due to school taxes,” she said. “It’s just one thing I think that can be accomplished. Other states do it and I feel that we could, too.”

Neidig is an international representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. He was appointed to fill the seat vacated by former school director Gary Torick this year. That term expires at the end of the year.

Neidig wants to make the district a more attractive place for families to send their children. He said that could be done by looking into different sports and academic programs.

He also wants to make sure all administrators, teachers, parents and students are treated with dignity and respect.

“That will be one thing that I want to make sure we’re always doing, especially during our public meetings,” Neidig said.

McCloskey is a high school computer science teacher. She doesn’t work for Deer Lakes, but her two children go there.

She would like to promote positive change and build solutions to move the school district forward. She has no prior political experience.

“As a parent of two children in the Deer Lakes School District, and as an educator in an outside school district for over 20 years, I believe I can bring a different perspective to our board,” McCloskey said. “I look forward to collaborating and working as a team with the other school board members to implement policies that support our teachers and ensure the success of our students.”

A manager at an electrical supply business, Buck said it’s important for the school board to be fiscally responsible with the district’s money. He’s finishing up his first term as school director.

“We have to look out for taxpayers, but the most important thing is the students, themselves,” he said.

He wants to continue to support district administrators and make sure students get every opportunity to learn.

The district has emphasized the importance of technology when it comes to learning, and provided every student with a Chromebook or iPad as part of its one-to-one initiative. Buck says doing that was important.

“It gives every student, no matter what their income level or where they’re at, it puts them on an even playing field with all the other students. So that now they can all have the same opportunities (even though they) can’t afford a Chromebook,” he said.